Call Signs
by Nightingale Elite
Summary: The Task Force band of brothers are the best of the best. Selected from the elite, these hardened soldiers have a history. However, one question remains. How did the 141 earn their call signs? And it all begins with a story in the rec room...
1. Roach

**Edit: I changed up a few details to match a seperate story and to be more realistic. Nothing big.**

"Hey, what's true? Roach? Oi, Bug!" Toad snapped Master Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson out of his dreamy stupor.

"Fucking A, whaddya want Toad?" The tired sergeant grumbled, keeping his eyes closed.

Mactavish chuckled, ignoring his own exhaustion. All of the 141 were gathered in the rec room, making it uncomfortably warm. Roach and MacTavish didn't mind, however, especially after coming from an Ultranationalist base near Siberia. The men teased the FNG relentlessly. "What, Bug? You stay up all night sexting your girlfriend?" Rook teased as Roach rubbed his eyes.

"Nah, just yours. God, just came back from fucking freezing my ass off and running and I get this shit." Roach replied smoothly.

"Oh snap, the bug has some bite! Maybe you should be Mosquito or Spider, not Roach." Archer laughed at Rook's expense.

"Speaking of which, back to the original question. Roach, did you get your call sign because you're hard to kill or because you're creepy?" Toad asked.

"Because I can survive a few weeks without my head. Can I go to sleep now?" Roach asked impatiently.

"Not til you answer the question. What the hell kind of name is Roach?" MacTavish said.

"Ugh. Fine." The American sergeant pushed himself up. "Now shut up and pay attention, I won't tell the story twice. I first got called Roach six years ago, on my first deployment to Iraq with Delta..."

Six Years Ago...

Private Sanderson and Lieutenant Jason "Grizzly" Micheals lay on a roof overlooking an Iraqi city. Grizzly was looking through the scope of his favorite rifle, a .300 Win Mag, observing the surroundings around the Ranger regiment moving through. Sanderson sat next to him, a SCAR-H propped next to him. "Stay to the far right 75th." Grizzly murmured into the comms.

"Rog'. Thanks for the overwatch."

Sanderson groans quietly. "Fucking rookies. Put a sniper overhead and they feel invincible."

"Make them feel invincible and they are. Aren't you a rookie, Private?" Grizzly laughed quietly, never taking his ever watchful eyes off the street.

"Nah man. Old man was Delta. I got me some experience."

Grizzly rolled his eyes. "Sure... whaddya do? Go hiking?"

Sanderson adjusted and put his rifle in his hands, unconsciously becoming tense. "He made me dig trenches in the pouring rain. Then fill them so base security wouldn't fine him."

"Bullshit."

"No shit."

"Damn."

They became quiet once again. Grizzly watched as the group breached a house and he heard yelling on the comms. "Don't come out dead, boys." He whispered.

A small scratch came out from the doorway leading down from the roof. Both men jumped slightly, the veteran of the two not moving his rifle a bit. "Go check it out, rookie."

Sanderson was already on it. Allowing his rifle to lead the way, he checked his corners and moved into the dark house. Straining his eyes, he walked forward, tense. Seeing a flash of movement, Sanderson swung his rifle around, aiming at the shadowy figure. A strangled meow came out of the shadow and Sanderson grinned. "Just a fucking cat."

"Hey, sniper team. Get your asses down here. HVI in custody. We're Oscar Mike." Corporal Foley's voice sounded in his ears.

"Rog'. Moving." Grizzly replied, coming into the same room as Sanderson.

"Good day?" Sanderson asked.

"Not enough targets." Grizzly smiled.

Sanderson motioned for Grizzly to lead the way out the door and Grizzly complied. Age before beauty, he guessed. Or rank before beauty.

As Grizzly began to open the door, Sanderson saw another flash of movement, similar to a rock breaking a window. The "rock" landed near the supporting pillar and for Sanderson, time slowed to a screeching halt. Almost as if he was in a dream, the 19 year old private pushed the stunned 26 year old lieutenant out of the house, yelling, "GRENADE!" Then, all time ceased to exist as the explosive went off.

Present Day

The 141 was quiet as Roach cit himself off. He pointed to a scar on his eyebrow, grinning. "What happened next?" Worm asked, completely enthralled.

Roach chuckled quietly. Nothing like a war story to capture the attention of soldiers. "This part is blurry for me. I had a concussion and the blast completely knocked me out. Grizzly told me what happened next."

Six Years Ago

As the blast went off, Grizzly yelled for his spotter. (At this, Toad and Archer shared a knowing glance. The bond between a sniper and his spotter is strong.) Watching in horror, he watched the pillar collaspe, bringing the structure down on top of Sanderson. "SHIT! 75Th, get your asses over here!"

Swinging his rifle around, Grizzly searched desperately for the inurgent who threw the grenade. The street, however, was empty. "What's going on Granite?"

"Grenade brought the house down on Sanderson! Bring your medic!"

A Ranger whistled when he saw the debris. "Only a fucking cockroach coulda survived that."

As Grizzly was outside of the wreckage yelling, Sanderson was slowly coming to. The first thing he noticed was it was completely dark. The second thing he noticed was his head really fucking hurt. Groaning, he called out for help. However, only a croak came out. He could faintly hear Grizzly calling his name. Sanderson tried to sit up so he could respond better but quickly hit his head. A strangled gurgle escaped him as he tried not to scream and cry at the same time. Putting his hands out, he found that he was in a small hole just big enough for his body. On top of his hole was a slab of concrete (or whatever they used for their homes), sealing his hole like a coffin. Suddenly feeling rather claustrophobic, Sanderson began desperately shouting for help. His voice steadily grew stronger and stronger as his hysteria grew. Pushing on the slab with all his might, he managed to move it just enough to form a crack at the far left wdge of his coffin. Some daylight began to stream through. The rest of his energy expended, Sanderson passed out.

Grizzly heard Sanderson's shout and he quickly shut the Rangers up. Pinpointing the source, he saw a large rock slab move a slight bit. "There!" He pointed.

The sniper quickly rushed towards the slab and began throwing debris off of it. Desperately reaching for his brother, Grizzly tried to heave the rock off of him. Unsuccessful, he ordered for the other Rangers to help. "On three. One, two, three, heave!"

Together, the group moved the slab. What Grizzly saw shocked him. If the Private had been any bigger or had been in a different spot, he would have surely been dead. "Damn kid. Fucking lucky as shit."

Preent Day

"Because of that Ranger's comment, some of the guys began calling me Roach. The nickname further stuck when a year later, I survived that nuke that went off, despite being in the blast radius. No radioation posioning either. So Roach it is. You can't kill me, just like a damn roach."


	2. Toad

**A/N: I probably should be working on my main story. Ehh. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this. I always wondered how the call signs were assigned and I always thought of hilarious (and serious) ways each member got them. I'm going to try to do a story for Worm, Chemo, Ghost, Soap, Rook, Ozone, Scarecrow, Archer, Meat, Royce, and Canine. Let me know what you think and PM me any ideas (especially for Royce)!**

"Alright, Toad. You're up. How did ya get yours?" Roach asked Corporal James "Toad" Laurence.

Archer guffaws and Ghost smiles beneath his balaclava. MacTavish simply grins as he remembers the day.

"It may not be as cool as your story, Roach, but it is pretty funny." Toad almost giggles.

"Bollocks! Mate, it was fucking hilarious!" Archer bursts out, laughing at his spotter.

The non-senior members of the 141 have their interest perked now. The usually reserved and stoic sniper is practically rolling on the floor. Toad blushes, his pale skin turning beet red to match his hair. Worm and Chemo smile at the group's mirth. Nursing their beers, they quietly observe the situation. "It's not too long of a story but, in the words of the good sergeant, shut up and pay attention. It was when the 141 was first formed, and being the gentleman I am, I had to... properly welcome everyone, including our lovely lieutenant."

The younger members groaned appreciably, putting two and two together. "You mean to tell me, Toad, that you tried to prank Ghost?" Rook whistled.

Toad nods with a huge shit eating grin on his face. "I should of got a damn medal for the crap."

"Brave soul." Worm joked.

"Anyway! What did I say? Shut up! As I was saying, I found some toads out back and I decided that Ghost would like some new pets. I knew that Shepard was on base and that he would meet Ghost in his office for a meeting. So, naturally, I put about 20 of the buggers in his office about 10 minutes before his meeting. Then, I went to mymy barracks and waited. As you all know, my room is pretty close to Ghost's office. What I didn't know was that Ghost caught wind of my prank and had MacTavish's help catching them all with five minutes to spare. The meeting came and I closely watched. I was shocked when he and the general came out, completely professional like without a care in the world. I knew I was in trouble when Ghost winked at me through those damnable shades. Finally, around midnight, I had forgotten about the thing and went to my room to sleep. I closed the door, and behold, I had 50 fucking toads in my room. Ghost had caught more and put them all in my room, hiding some of them. It was three days before I caught them all. I couldn't sleep for more than four hours before one woke me up."

Ghost, grinning, reminded Toad, "That wasn't all. You tell them why the name stuck."

Blushing, Toad shook his head. At this, he was promptly hazed. "You fucker, you don't get to do that!" Chemo pointed out.

"That was an order, Corporal!" Roach yelled.

"I'll find some more toads, mate! You tell them!" Archer threatened.

The rest turned into a cacophony of noise until MacTavish, slightly annoyed by the noise, stopped it. "Alright, enough! Toad, this is an order. Tell them what happened a few days later."

Several "oohs" were heard but no one spoke further. Toad relented. "A few days later, on an op, Ghost put a toad in my bag. While I was covering Archer, I reached inside to grab a new scope and I grabbed it. I jumped a bit."

"Liar! You screamed like a little bitch! All I hear was him scream and a gun shot. It was fucking great! I asked him all concerned if he was hit and what happened, and he was hysterical. He was stuttering out, 'There was a fucking toad!" GodHe shoot the poor thing! God, it was bloody brilliant!" Archer guffawed. At this, the whole group was laughing. It was bloody brilliant.

Toad smacked him, "No it wasn't!"

"Are you doubting me, Toad? I can go get another toad." Ghost asked with fake menace.

"Fuck you guys." Toad sighed.

Attempting to get the attention and insults off of him, Toad then pointed out Worm. "Oi, Worm? How did a big tough SEAL get a call sign like that?"

"Well, I first earned my badge of honor during BUD/S..."


	3. Worm

**A/N: So, as for not updating or responding to anything... well, there was a dragon and... fine, it's summer and I got lazy. Anyway, here is Worm's story! Let me know what you think and tell me about any mistakes or anything good I do. On to the thank yous!**

 **Spitfire USN: Thanks! That helped a whole bunch! I was busier than a cat in a sandbox trying to figure out Royce's story. As for your ending, Air Force guy huh? I thought you would be more of a Navy guy given your name. LOL**

ONWARDS

"Well, I first earned my badge of honor during BUD/S. 2012 was the year and I thought, hey, the world us scheduled to end this year. Might as well do something stupid, like join the Navy and become a frogman. So, I did and ya'll know what happens at BUD/S. My squad, being the dwarf squad, was the slowest with the boats that day, same as always. Only problem was, the chief was in a bad mood. So, he made us run it again while everyone else went off for chow. Then, we had to get wet and sandy, which is when-"

Roach excitedly cuts Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamison "Worm" Grant off. "When you go into the surf and roll around in the sand! I've always wanted to do that!"

"Quit your fangirling, bug!" Scarecrow calls out from his position on the counter next to the kitchen.

Roach boyishly grins at him, "At least I quote unquote fangirl over something better than ice hockey!"

Scarecrow growls, "It isn't fangirling you bitch. It's called being a fan!"

"Sorry mate, Roach has you there!" Ghost grins underneath his balaclava.

"You always take Roach's side, leftenant!" Royce calls out.

"Does not! I didn't see your ass runnin 50 laps instead of 40!" Roach shouts.

"ANYWAY, you were saying, Worm?" Chemo butts in.

"Why, Roach, would you want to get wet and sandy? It fucking sucks ass! Anyway, when we passed the rocks and were heading back into the surf when we capsized. Before I could break the surface, I felt something brush against my skin. Not trying to open my eyes underwater, I brushed it off as one of my squadmates and kicked to the surface. When I broke the surface, however, I heard a guy call out shark. He even did that damn diving symbol for it! Not too many sharks show up at Coronado so I didn't quite believe him at first." Worm chuckles at the group's various expressions, particulary Roach's face of disbelief and Neon's outright shit eating grin.

"So why aren't you Shark Bait or Shark or something like that?" Chemo asks.

"Because of what the damn fish did. When I finally found it, it was right on top of me and it kept nudging me. When I pulled myself into the sorry excuse for a boat, it went cattywampus!"

"Caddy what piss? You drunk, lad?" MacTavish laughed.

"Cattywampus, Cap'n. It's southern American for 'awry' or 'shit's hit the fan'. Anyway, the fucking white shark bit the raft and sunk it, forcing us to swim back. This guy particulary had an interest in me and only me. I couldn't swim more than six feet without the thing bumping me and shit. It wad then our instructors decided us worthy of a ride back and they sent a boat after us. When it arrived, they were hurrying us on and, naturally, I was the last to go. When I went to get on, Sharkie wouldn't let me. It took 10 minutes to get me on board, and my chief called me shark bait after that. Later on, during Hell Week no less, the same fucking shark showed up and followed me again. They took to calling me bait when they fished a little fish chilling with the shark outta my boots. They called me 'Bait' then and it transformed into Worm when we went crawling through the mud, army style. I was the fastest, and the dirtiest. My chief came up to me and said, 'Hey, Bait, ya know they use worms on their fishing lines, right? Well, maybe the shark mistook you for a worm and was looking for an easy meal!' And so, Worm I am! Besides, haven't you ever heard of the one-eyed wonder worm?" He winks.

"I'd expect that from Meat, mate, not from you." Ghost shakes his head.

"Alright, who is next?" Roach grins, "How about you, Ghost?"

"It's because he's mean amd scary!" Canine slurs, finishing his fourth beer.

"Nah, it's because of his stealth ninja skills!" Neon calls out.

Roach, moving towards Ghost's back sneakily, holds in his snickers.

"Dude, it's because he is actually a ghost, dude doesn't die, like Roach." Worm jokes.

"Or because of his... MASK!" Roach slips Ghost's mask off and runs.

"YOU BLOODY WANKER! YOU GET YOUR SORRY ASS BACK HERE BEFORE I SEND YOU UP THE BRITISH FLAG POLE YOU DAMN YANK!" Ghost storms after him.

Roach only laughs as his makes a sprint for the kitchen! "ONLY IF YOU CAN CATCH ME, RED COAT!"

"Ghost, don't kill him, I don't want to fill out more paperwork." MacTavish sighs.

"Rog'!"

"I'll go next, if Roach lives." Canine says.

Roach runs out of the kitchen, giggling, with Ghost right on his heels. Suddenly, the room flashes red as the alarms sound. Several men jump but all quickly start cleaning their respective messes. Roach tosses Ghost his balaclava. MacTavish's phone buzzes and the words, "YOU'RE OFFICE. FIVE MIKES." flashes. "Shepard's coming. Op or recruit?" Roachs asks.

"Looks like recruit."


	4. Shadow

**A/N: I'm doing a collab with Alphawolf19 (previously known as Hawkeye-33)! I love this person, from her writing to her personality! This right here is going to be the intro for our two OCs, Shadow and T-Rex. If you wanna know more about them, you'll have to keep an eye out for our story, Doom on You, Mr. Tango! Anyway, final post op appointment for my nose in the morning, hopefully no more surgeries so I can keep both stories going! Shadow belongs to AlphaWolf19 and T-Rex is mine!**

 **SpitFire USN: Sweet! Ya know, my dad is Navy, has been for 26 years. He is on his last deployment. If you ever want pilot advice (I've flown a plane) or Navy advice, hit me up! Thanks for reading!**

 **Onwards!**

When the Captain returns, two woman join him. The surprise in the room is evident. A few men gasp and the shorter of the two rolls her eyes. Both are short, even by female standards. "Men, these two are Lieutenant Kylie "T-Rex" Long," Mactavish gestures towards the taller of the two, "and Sergeant Vanessa "Shadow" Lee."

The room doesn't respond for a moment until Roach steps in. "I'm bu-Roach. Sergeant Sanderson. But I prefer Roach."

The men go around with introductions, warming up to the FNGs.

"Well, I'm going to go unpack, I'll be out soon. You coming, Shadow?" T-Rex replies with a Texan accent.

Shadow shakes her head and plops down on the floor due to the lack of empty seats. "I'll do that later." Her Scottish accent is slight.

T-Rex smiles and walks out. Silwnce ensues, leaving Roach to break the silence once again. "So, Shadow, we were talking about how we got our call signs. Care to share?"

"Catch me up on yours first, sergeant." Roach mentally flinches a little at the professionalism but quickly recovers. "I'm impossible to kill, Toad tried to play a prank involving toads, and failed horribly, and Worm is shark bait."

"I got mine when I was 19 when I snuck onto an enemy base to rescue my captured team. I was bloody stealthy too, the men who survived claimed it was like catching a shadow." Shadow simply states.

Scarecrow groans, "Come on, details!"

Shadow allows a small smile, amused. Her grey-blue eyes flash as she remembers the day.

"Well, it was about three months ago, and it was what got me noticed by General Shepard."

Three Months Ago

Vanessa grinned, showing an emotion rarely shown elsewhere. As the body fell to the ground, she felt a grim satisfaction at killing those who would dare harm her team. As day progressed into night, the base was quickly falling into darkness. Perfect. She dragged the body into a small aclove and crept forward, blending with the shadows. As she rounded a corner, knife drawn, she quickly pressed herself against the wall. Coming closer were voices. "Shite." Vanessa whispered. Too close, no way to avoid them.

As they approached, Vanessa strained her ears to hear how many there were. "Shite." Too many.

Thinking quickly, Vanessa dropped to the ground and rolled her body so that she was lying on her side while pushed up against the wall. As the patrol approached closer and closer, she held her breath. The group looked ahead, oblvious to the threat right next to their feet, and continued conversing in Russian. Vanessa translated in her head. "That team we picked up, are we sure we got them all?"

"Pretty sure Nikkita."

"But what if we didn't?"

"Then they would go home. It wold be suicide to try to get them back."

Vanessa smiled, they had no idea. As soon as the patrol rounded the corner, she let out a small breath of relief. Getting back up, she contined on her mission. Checking her corners and checking each room, she progressed through the base undetected.

Present Time

"You might be better than Ghost here. He's our best with stealth." Canine stated.

"Watch it, mate."

"Yessir." Canine smiled.

"We may have to test that, sir." Shadow suggested.

"Eager to get our butt kicked, FNG?" Ghost mildly threatened.

"As I was saying, I progressed through the majority of the base undetected, but I did have to off a few guards. One body was found and the alarm went on through the base, putting it on high alert. I tried to maintain stealth, and I succeeded until I reached my team, Bravo Five."

Three Months Ago

Placing a breaching charge on the door, Vanessa prepared herself to ensure she didn't shoot her team. Thw charge went off and time slowed down.

Aiming quickly, Vanessa counted five targets and took them out with one shot to the chest each. Before the smoke had cleared, the room was clear. "About time sergeant."

"Apologies, sir. Let's go."

"You nust be a bloody shadow, sneaking through here like that. The alarm literally just went off."

"As opposed to theoretically, sir?"

Her CO smiled a bloody smile. "Lead the way."

Present Time

"My team was composed of five guys, including myself, and none were fit for combat at that point. I lead the way out and set fire to the base. We got our intel and our men back, and we went home to Credenhill. Since then, they called me Shadow."


End file.
